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Color Blind
From the Aug 27, 2024 e-EditionThe wind blew hard northwest by
west; it had commenced to snow:
A small Salvation Army Band
played carols, sweet and low.
From a church spire up on North Main
Street the bells began to chime;
The pretty lights flickered off and on,
'twas almost Christmas time.
Near the corner 'neath the parapet
of a hotel proud and grand,
On a cold and weathered cobblestone
sat a weary old black man.
He pulled his old coat over him
to cover his thin loins,
And at his feet a tin cup sat
asking for small coins.
He pumped an old accordion,
its bellows worn and frayed,
But it sounded like an organ
as he pumped and sang and played.
Then it seemed as out of nowhere,
a little white boy came
And whispered in the old man's ear
and called him by his name.
The old man pulled the kid up close,
kissed him, and held him tight,
And everyone who saw this scene
was warmed on that cold night.
The old man reached and got the cup
and gave it to the boy;
He said, "Dip in and take enough
to buy yo'self a toy."
Someone said, "That was nice of you
to do the thing you did;
You gave your meager earning
to a dirty faced, white kid."
He said, "Sir, when I was born,
the Lord gave me a good mind,
But he never gave me eyesight
and all my life, Sir, I's been blind.
I ain't never knowed the difference
'twixt day or darkest night,
So I can't tell if that little boy
is red, or black, or white.
I stays down on the South side
on a littered vacant lot,
And that little boy that you just saw
is the goodest friend I've got.
Folks tell me he's a white chile,
but Lawd knows I don't know
'Cause I can't tell de difference
'twixt soot and whitest snow.
I just know that when I needs him
he's always standing by;
I sho' has seen a lots of things
through that little feller's eye."
When he had finished talking,
I wiped away a tear.
I had seen a tattered old black man
express true Christmas cheer.
Few times on the streets of a city
are there acts so unselfish and kind,
And I wonder if it might not be good for
us all to be a little more color blind.
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Print Issue: 8-27-24
In the e-Edition
McKenzie Banner August 27, 2024
Aug 27, 2024 · Read the full issue →
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